1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for production of chewing or bubble gum pieces and chewing and bubble gum pieces.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are many different kinds of chewing gums, for instance in plates, small pieces with or without encapsulation, stratified chewing gum, filled chewing gum with fluid contents, coated chewing gum or extruded chewing gum.
Gummy masses used in gum may be found in many variations. The following gummy masses are available from nature: Chicle, Dead Borneo and Pontianaco. However, most of the gummy masses are produced by rubber, resin and wax. Furthermore there also exist synthetic gummy masses.
Generally it is a fact that all gummy masses may contain only a limited quantity of flavorings which contain oil or grease. Supersaturation with flavoring causes destruction of the gummy mass.
The gummy mass itself is a viscous, hard mass, which normally is mixed with glucose and sugar, and which is thereafter formed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,155 discloses chewing gum having a gum base, a water soluble bulk portion and a flavor releasing structure. The flavor releasing structure comprises a flavor reservoir material, which can be a non-thermoplastic material and a binding material, which can be a thermoplastic or thermosetting material or a combination of both materials forming a core of the flavor releasing structure. The flavor releasing structure is in small cores which are mixed into the gum mass and may be coated to prevent the flavoring from migrating from the numerous cores into the gum.
The invention is a method for production of an improved chewing or bubble gum with an extra strong taste and better durability (taste intensity). The method is carried out such that an inner core of flavoring is separated from an outer gummy mass containing layer by an intermediate middle layer which envelopes the core and separates the core from the outer layer containing gummy mass. The outer layer is an outer layer of a gum piece which is placed in the mouth of a person chewing the gum piece. The outer layer is prepared by mixing a gummy mass with softener, freezing the mixture, pulverizing the frozen mixture and thereafter using the pulverized material to coat the intermediate layer. In a simple manner the outer gummy mass which is the outer layer of a gum piece, may be kept totally separated from the oily or greasy flavorings of the inner core, which usually decompose the gummy mass. As a result a chewing or bubble gum may be produced with an extra strong taste and better durability (taste intensity), where the flavorings and the gummy mass are not mixed until chewing occurs.
Furthermore the invention relates to a chewing or bubble gum pieces, produced in accordance with the method according to the invention, comprising a flavoring containing core, an intermediate gummy mass free layer which encapsulates the core and an outer layer which is an outer layer of a gum piece that is placed in the mouth of a person chewing the gum and contains gummy mass which outer layer encapsulates the intermediate layer. The outer gummy mass containing layer is applied as a pulverized material. The pulverized material is formed by mixing a gummy mass and softener to produce a mixture, freezing the mixture and pulverizing the mixture to form the pulverized material.
The chewing or bubble gum pieces according to the invention may comprise a core, which instead of or as a supplement to the flavorings contains a medicine mass.